Winery charges patrons $72 to cut birthday cake

Needless to say, the hefty charge knocked the birthday spirit out of the group. (News.com.au)

Patrons at an Australian winery got the birthday spirit knocked out of them when they were charged $72 to cut a celebratory cake.

The Herald Sun reported earlier ths week that a woman named Sue was charged the whopping sum at Stillwater at Crittenden to have a BYO sponge cake cut and served for her friend’s birthday luncheon.

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“I bought a passionfruit sponge from a local Mornington bakery and it cost $10,” Sue said on the Melbourne radio show 3AW, the newspaper reported. She was horrified to be charged $12 per person to slice the cake for the six guests at the birthday fête.

“If we’d have known we’d have literally cut it with a butter knife,” she added.

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However, receipts and booking information obtained by the Sun confirm that a woman named “Sue" was aware of a charge for cutting a BYO cake in advance.

Meanwhile, Stillwater director and owner Zac Poulier told The Daily Mail that while he was unaware of Sue’s incident prior to 3AW appearance, the restaurant does advertise that they charge $6 per head for cake cutting.

“We're losing out on a dessert – it costs money to cut it, to bring it out, to wash it, we're paying penalty rates on the weekend and we have a fixed menu then… It's the same as corkage,” Poulier said. “$6, not $12. We plate and then serve it with creme and berries.”

While the Sun reports that Stillwater's online menu does not mention the additional fee, Poulier stands by the statement that diners are always informed in advance.

"I had no idea that it had even occurred, but when people bring in a cake they're always told, always told," he said.

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